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Misspelling Already Commonly Misspelled Names

Another user on a different thread made this point (I couldn't find it- sorry!) about this. Even if you name your child the correct spelling of a name such as Caitlin or Aiden, they will be asked how to spell their name. Now, I don't mean crazy spellings like Kaytelynne or Adyn, but Kaitlin or Aidon.

I don't think you should just change spellings without a reason, but maybe a different spelling honor someone. Maybe your maiden name was McKenna, and you love the sound Michaela, and you use the spelling McKayla to incorporate your maiden name. Or, perhaps your brother who died in a car crash was Kyle, and you think Kylee is closer to his name than Kylie. Or it could be more subtle, such as your mother was Eleanor and your SO's was Carson, so you decide Ellison.

I'm a '90s baby who knows a multitude of Caitlins- only one has the correct spelling. She is asked to spell her name as often as the all the Kaitlins and Kaitlyns. Because of this, as long as you don't completely butcher the name or make it hard to pronounce, I think it is fine if you spell a name a bit differently.

Well, I don't really agree with you and I really don't like any of the names you mentioned! I prefer classic names where there's only one real spelling. EvenAidan (I thought this was the correct spelling) and Caitlin are made-up sounding to me (I know they're actually old names, but with their popularity and trendiness...). And with the hypothetical back stories you gave, I'd still cringe if I met a McKayla, Kylee or Ellison. Slightly less cringe-worthy if I knew their back stories, but only slightly. So, to answer your question, I'd prefer everyone just spelled their names how they were originally spelled, including Caitlin and Aidan!

Well... I`m from Argentina and my DH works in a global help desk and he allways tells me that when a user calls from USA, he never know how to spell their names properly, because the odds spellings, the other day he spoke with a Laakedjya (lakesha) a Caetlynn and a Cady prn like Kathy...

all the spelling variations seems very odd to us ...We have only one list of stablished names that can only be writen in one form and one form only.

I think creative misspelling is sort of like coloring your hair pink-- you have to expect a certain reaction to it.

Personally, I wouldn't color my hair pink. I also wouldn't spell a child's name some way that's bizarre. That said...

Who decides what the 'correct' spelling is, anyway? My name is Jennifer. I had a twice-great grandmother named Jennie who was born in the 1880s, I alternated between Jenny and Jennie when I was in grade school, then looped in Jenna and Genna when I was in middle school before simplifying to Jen (frequently 'misspelled' Jenn). What makes any of those more or less 'right' than any of the others? Or Jenifer or Jeniffer or Jenniffer for that matter? It's a name derived from a common ancestor that also gave us Genevieve, Guinevere, and Ginevra, as well as a whole host of mind-boggling spellings that look to me like they belong in Lord of the Rings. I usually see something like Gwenhwyfar listed as the original spelling. What kind of eyebrows would that raise?

Why is Hannah okay as opposed to Channah? James is a corruption of a form of Jacob, which is a Latinisation of a Greek form of a Hebrew name. Linda is a name element that suddenly began sounding exotic in the early 30s.

I think that names will inevitably become more phonetic, such as with Michaela to Makayla or Caitlin to Katelyn. I think hard ch sounds are begging to be turned into k's, silent letters drop away when we're not looking, and diphthongs like 'ai' get reduced to vowels like 'a'. And then someone will inevitably print out A-N-N and decide it looks absolutely dreadful so slap an 'E' on the end of it because Anne with an E is much more distinguished. Hence, Brooklyn becomes Brookelyn and Brookelyn becomes Brookelynne.

As for image... I think the image will change as those Makaylas and Brookelynnes grow up. I remember when I was a tween, I had a board game called Girl Talk-- it was a truth or dare game with little trivia/challenge cards and one of the cards that always stumped me was 'name three famous people with your name'. Well, none of the Jennifers were famous yet. We were all having slumber parties. It was hard to imagine a Jennifer as anything but maybe a cashier at the mall. Guess what? We grew up and we're making our way into the boardrooms. Just like Terri did, and Debbie and Donna and Pat. I suspect that in 30 years, Kylee and Rhylee will be there too.